Sfairadora

  • Reference Guide

Outputs Document Section

The Outputs section contains text outputs of the document data generated according to output templates. A text output is used to print data directly. It corresponds to what some other applications call a “report”. Text output is displayed in a standard rich text editor so that you can place the cursor in it and print it out using the File|Print... menu command. Once you have created a text output template, the corresponding text in the Outputs section is automatically updated in order to reflect the instant state of the data. Since the output text is automatically updated, the rich text editor displaying it is in read-only mode (because potential changes made by the user would be lost upon the next update anyway). If you still need to modify the output text manually, you should copy the entire item from the Outputs section to the Data section. This operation saves the instant state of the output text, which you can further modify. You can also select a part of the output text and copy it to another text editor. If the nature of the modification implies that you will need to apply it repeatedly – like adding a comment to the data – then it is more appropriate to modify the output template.
You can create a new output text using the new output item located at the bottom of the output list. A double click on this item invokes a window where you can specify the name and output template. However, manual creation of the entire output template can be too complicated, therefore you can have the template created automatically by copying an item from the Data, View, or Presentation section. Then you can modify the created template as you wish. A separate chapter is devoted to the Enkidu language, which has been developed for designing templates.
Output templates are stored in the Output Templates section.

Copying items to the Outputs section

Source
Result
Data section
Creates a template and hence also a text output for the data. The output continuously reflects changes made to the data. However, the template itself does not change if you change the data type. If the data type is changed, it may be necessary to recreate the template.
View section
Creates a template and hence also a text output for the data view. The effects explained above for the Data section apply analogically.
Presentation section
Creates a template and hence also a text output based on the presentation. Potential subsequent modifications of the initial presentation are not reflected in the created template.
Outputs section
Creates a copy of the output.

Copying items from the Outputs section

Target
Result
Data section
Saves the instant state of the text output. A text saved this way can be further modified. Subsequent changes to the data that was used to create the output text are no longer applied to the copy.
Outputs section
Creates a copy of the output.
Inserts a copy of the text output into the edited text.
Moreover, you can use this technique to copy data to an external text editor outside Sfairadora.
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Details on moving and copying

Context Menu

For the Outputs section items in the left pane:
Menu Item
Description
Outputs
Open in Window
Opens a separate window with the respective presentation, which would otherwise be displayed in the right pane. The same is achieved by double-clicking the item.
Edit Output Template
Opens an editor for the modification of the output template. The command is equivalent to opening the respective item from the Output Templates section in a separate window. It is advisable to be familiar with the Enkidu language in order to modify the template.
Save Instant State
Saves the instant state of the output as a new item either to the Data document section or to a newly created separate text document. Before the text is saved, a window appears, in which you can specify where the text should be saved and possibly also its name.
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The context menu of the right pane contains some of the commands listed above.